


Tinder

by BeaRyan



Series: Rare Pairs for Grey's Anatomy [6]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, I blame Shonda, Mentions Cristina's abortion from Owen's POV, Now that we know April is on Tinder, this is a thing that had to happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:34:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8472205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeaRyan/pseuds/BeaRyan
Summary: April's can't really tell what the Major looks like from his profile picture on Tinder, but they seem to have a lot in common.





	

April ducks into the supply closet to steal a look at her phone, and her heart beats a little faster when she sees there's another message from him. This probably isn't the rush most people mean when they talk about Tinder, but her blood is pumping and her hopes are up. 

She's traded one message after another with a man identified only as Major. No real name and a profile picture of him in uniform taken from so far away that she can't really tell what he looks like. He explained that he needs to maintain his privacy. It wouldn't do for his direct reports to see his profile on a dating site and know that what he truly longs for is a marriage that will last and a house full of children.

He's divorced and regretful about it. He sorry that they didn't talk enough before they got married. Sorry that there was no way for them both to be happy. And he goes to church and prays for the life he knows he should be leading. 

They've both lost children. His well before birth and hers just after. At least she got to hold Samuel. The topic is a raw nerve for him, and she can feel his pain even if it is displayed as just letters on a screen. 

He's patriotic. Of course with a name like Major he would be. He told her he paid for med school with the GI Bill. She's told him about her work overseas. About the patients who made it and those who didn't. About hiding from her life by fleeing to another country and trying to soothe the pain of others. It worked for a while and then it didn't, and so she came home and tried to fix the unfixable. 

She feels trapped but afraid to move forward, afraid to completely abandon what's not working and cast out into the unknown alone with no promise that anything better is out there. 

When he writes back that he understands, she feels certain that it's true. She feels known. It's easy to say things to a phone. To click a few letters into a familiar device and scream them out into the universe in the hope that someone will echo them back to you. 

Part of her worries he's not real. 

She's heard of catfishing, but she can't imagine that she has anything he wants. He's a doctor, unless he's lying, so he can't be interested in her for the money. He knows she's a single mother, and he sounded enthusiastic but not creepy about that. He asked if she wanted more children and if she'd allow her second husband to be a true parent to his stepchild. If it's all a show, it's a good one. 

She pushes her way through the steps of her day in the ER by ducking in to the supply room on the hour every hour to read the latest missive from Major. No one notices, or if they do they don't say anything. Even Owen, who always seems to be nearby lately, lets her hourly disappearances pass without comment. 

He and Amelia are separated now, and he's become a vault in public. Whatever torment is raging inside him, he's keeping it boxed up. He checks his phone often, and sometimes even smiles at it. Maybe they'll make up. Maybe he can make his marriage last. April wants that for him. He's a good man. 

They say a good man is hard to find, but she knows so many of them. More true is that the right man for you is hard to find. Passion isn't enough. Understanding and compassion are nice, but sympathy isn't empathy. She wants someone who knows her and loves her despite her flaws. 

Maybe she should have married Matthew. 

"What?" Owens voice startles her out of her reverie and she tries to put on a calm face. 

She asks, "What what?" 

"You said you should have married Matthew? Are you and Matthew in touch?" 

"No!" If Matthew touched her it would probably be with a stone or fire. She wronged him. She knows that. The Lord may absolve her for that sin, but she holds it against herself. 

"Oh." Owen's eyes catch hers, and she can see there's something going on behind the mask he's been wearing. The tide is turning behind the blue-green sea of his eyes. 

He has beautiful eyes. 

They stand there, staring at each other in silence, and she waits for the fire within him to catch hold of tinder and set off the explosion. He's loud when he's scared, just like the animals in the barn, but his noise and motion don't even phase her. 

Finally he looks away and mumbles, "I have to go." 

He retreats, and it's a maneuver that looks strange on him. 

She grabs the next chart. Sees the next patient. Waits for the minute hand to hit 12 so she can give herself a break and check her phone. 

When she finally ducks into supply, there's a message waiting from Major. It reads, "Tell me to be brave. Tell me rejection isn't worse than an opportunity missed." 

The message is a puzzle. Maybe he means it's time for them to finally meet. His profile picture is from so far back she doesn't even know what he looks like. She writes back. "Be brave. What's the worst that could happen?" 

She pockets her phone and heads to the staff lounge to grab a few bites of the lunch she packed. Owen is there, staring at his phone with the same intensity she's seen him use in surgery. 

She asks, "What's wrong?"

"I have a choice to make." 

"Do you want to talk it through?"

He doesn't answer, just continues to stare at his phone. Whatever he's wrestling with, he'll tell her about it or not in his own time. He's not a complainer, but he's not afraid to share his feelings either. He taps out a few words then puts his phone in his pocket and walks away. 

Later when she lets herself check her messages, just as she'd hoped there's another message from Major. "Can I buy you a coffee?" 

She answers back quickly, asking when and where they can finally meet. Her heart pounds as she considers the ways it could all still go terribly wrong. What if they just don't have a connection in person? What if he's ugly or a patient or a murderer or... or... or... The list of ways it could go badly is long.

Owen's enters the supply room and she quickly pockets her phone and pretends to be looking for something. He says, "April?" 

She smiles at him, glad to have him pull her out of her worry spiral. He's steady and reliable, a good counter balance to her when she's swinging wildly. She says, "Yeah? What do you need?" 

He holds the cup up and offers it to her. "For you. Latte from the third floor cart. Two sugars and a pump of vanilla."

"Oh! Thank you. Let me get you some money." 

He says, "No, don't. You said I could buy you a cup of coffee." 

It takes a moment to realize the Major has made his choice. He's been brave and revealed himself, and now the choice is hers. Exactly what she wants is within reach. All she has to do is accept what's right in front of her.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.


End file.
